Where You Can Belong
by BrickmasterGuy
Summary: "We're good at drawing lines through the space between the stars, like, we're pattern-finders, and we'll find patterns. And we, like, really put our hearts and minds into it and even if we don't mean to." "We are not monsters. We do it because we love our home. As long as we keep doing this, Possum Springs survives. Things *can* get better."
1. Fiascola

It was a nice, warm day outside, and yet Bea still had to stand around, doing nothing inside of the 'Ol Pickaxe. She hated it. But, she couldn't do much about it, and so continued to tap away on her phone, attempting to entertain herself. It wasn't working too well.

 _Ring._ Bea looked up at the door and its annoying bell.

"Heh, I was wondering when you were finally gonna stop by and say hello," Bea dryly joked from behind the counter.

"I slept in," Mae blankly mentioned as she walked up to the counter.

"What, you mean later than usual?" Bea taunted.

"Hmpf. I'm twenty, I can make my own decisions, thank you very much." Mae retorted.

"Maybe, but you're also unemployed," Bea continued.

"Ugh. I told you, I'm looking," Mae insisted.

It was late in the afternoon on a warm spring day in Possum Springs. Business was slow in the 'Ol Pickaxe, Gregg and Angus were off at work doing… work stuff, and Mae was still sleepy after waking up at about six o' clock. Bea couldn't believe how much Mae slept sometimes. It was adorable.

"Well, hurry up so that you can finally pay me back all the money you owe me," Bea teased.

"That'll never happen and we both know that,"

"Maybe not, but we can dream, can't we?" Bea chuckled.

The two had been, according to Mae, "sorta dating" since the events a few months earlier with the "murder cult of dads". And, with Gregg gone, they wouldn't be pestered about it, unlike the pestering Bea and Mae did towards Gregg and Angus.

Gregg and Angus had been gone for a few weeks, and Bea and Mae were adapting to it. It was definitely more boring for the both of them, but they were able to annoy each other as much as they wanted, so they could deal with it. And besides, they could hang out with Germ if they ever felt like it, which they had a few times already. But, Germ had been busy recently, repairing his house with his family, as a tornado had comer through town recently, close to the mines. It left most of the other structures in town alone, but with Germ's house being so close to it, it was just about turned inside out. Mae thought it sucked that Germ of all people would have their house ripped apart, but it gave Bea something to do, so she was content.

"Uh, I gotta go, actually. Germ's roof needs me," Bea said, glancing at the clock.

"Oh, really?" Mae muttered, "Sorry I got here so late,"

"Ah, it's no problem. Besides, I was planning for you to come over tonight, if that's alright," Bea suavely bargained, grabbing tools.

"Yeah, sure!" Mae agreed, following Bea out the door.

"Alright, cool. It's nothing much, I've just got some stupid comedy movies for us to make fun of is all,"

"Haha, nice,"

"Alright, see you at, like, nine,"

"Bye!" Mae waved.

The two had been on "dates" before, but this was the first time Mae had been invited over to Bea's since their dinner/fight. Mae was excited. At home she talked to Gregg, who had just got off of work. She still didn't know what Gregg's job was, likewise for Angus. But, they seemed to make enough money to support themselves, so she didn't prod around.

It was eight-thirty, and Mae stared at her phone, attempting to do something to stir away her boredom. Her phone buzzed with a message from Bea.

" _hey can you go buy a two liter bottle of Fiascola or something? i'm already home and don't feel like leaving again Take some money from the register at the ol pickaxe and lock the door there while you're at it thanks love you 3_ "

Mae immediately began to respond, quickly tapping away at the tiny keyboard on her phone.

" _what? You don't even lock the doors of the Ol Pickaxe at night? and am I even allowed to take money money from the cash register there?_ "

" _yeah go ahead thats where the money you borrow comes from anyways Also i usually lock up today i felt lazy_ "

" _ok whatever you lazy bum 3_ "

Mae, after engaging in that much too sweet conversation, sat up and headed out out towards the 'Ol Pickaxe. Mae still couldn't believe that she didn't lock up the store, but it allowed her to steal some money from the store without any consequences. Score.

After closing up the store for Bea and borrowing $5, she headed over to the Snack Falcon, which had replaced Gregg with Germ. It was nice to be able to go to the Snack Falcon and still see a familiar face. She didn't know why or how Germ got the job, but it didn't matter.

"Hey, Germ," Mae started.

"Hey, Mae," Germ said.

Mae walked around the store for a minute before finding the two liter bottles. She grabbed one before walking back to the counter.

"Why do you need so much Fiascola?"

"I don't know, I'm just getting it for Bea,"

"Cute,"

Mae waited as Germ fiddled around with the scanner, attempting to scan the barcode.

Her vision began to shift out of focus, however. Head pounded. World shifted under her feet. Life ceased to be for a moment. She felt no emotions and yet terrible rage at the same time. She wondered if she was dying. Terror filled her very existence.

"...Mae? Mae? You okay?" Germ asked, genuinely concerned.

"Hmm? Uh, yeah, I-I'm alright. Sorry," Mae answered, coming back into consciousness.

"What happened?" Germ continued.

"Uh, just zoned out, I guess," Mae responded, grabbing the soda.

She walked out of the store, carrying the Fiascola in one hand and her phone in the other. She tried to convince herself that what happened in the store was normal while she walked home. It was probably just a migraine or something, or maybe she just started to fall asleep or something. She was fine, she told herself. There was nothing to worry about.


	2. Garbo and Malloy

"Hey. Brought some soda," Mae said as she walked into Bea's house.

"Sweet. Put it in the fridge, Mayday." Bea explained, motioning towards the fridge, "Oh, by the way, my dad isn't here tonight."

"Really now? So, I can be disgustingly sweet and romantic towards you?" Mae joked, closing the fridge door.

"No, please spare me," Bea said in a tone so blank and dry that Mae couldn't tell if she was being serious or not.

"Too bad… uh, cutie,"

"No, stop," Bea prayed, clutching her chest with one hand and dramatically throwing the other one up in anguish.

"No, not emotions!" Mae imitated.

Bea chuckled, before holding up three discs, "Okay, so which movie do you wanna make fun of?"

All three comedy films were produced at low budget and sold as such, as each one costed a dollar at most. One of said films was a blatant rip off the the cult classic Garbo and Malloy movie. Despicable. Another told the story of a book club that accidentally read an ancient book that unleashed hell upon the planet. The packaging said that it was a hilarious movie that the whole family could enjoy. The last movie seemed to be a documentary about the Roman Empire? Either Bea picked up a movie from the wrong genre, or it was a really obscure joke.

"Uh, how about the Garbo and Malloy fake." Mae pointed, "I want them to pay for their copying sins."

"All your doing is making fun—" Bea began.

"THEY MUST PAY!" Mae shout throwing her arms up. Bea chuckled again, before putting the disc into her DVD player.

Following that, the two had a nice time noticing and pointing out everything wrong with the knockoff. They couldn't even get their cameras to focus correctly. It was a shame. After the movie and their hour-and-a-half-long cuddle ended, Bea stood up.

"Sorry Mae, but I gotta got to work tomorrow," Bea yawned, stretching.

"Oh, alright," Mae said while getting up.

"I can drive you home if you want me to, though," Bea mentioned, putting her cigarette out in an ashtray nearby.

"Nah, I can manage," Mae responded, hugging Bea from behind.

"Heh, alright, cutie, just don't get kidnapped," Bea mentioned with a slight red tinge in her cheeks.

"Alright, Beabea." Mae agreed, hugging Bea for a few more seconds before letting go and heading towards the door, "Bye!"

"See you," Bea smiled, turning the DVD player off.

Although the air had been warm just a few hours prior, it was frigid now. It felt as though winter had rolled back into Possum Springs. And, that was pretty unnatural, as it was practically summer. Mae was starting to regret not taking Bea up on that ride home.

Once Mae had gotten home, she headed up to her attic bedroom. She plugged in her phone before focusing her attention over to her laptop. She had gotten messages from Angus while hanging out at Bea's.

" _Hey mae. me and angus need to settle an argument. what would be better, unlimited money or control over the mints?_ "

Mae considered the options for a moment before typing a response.

" _unlimited money sound better_ "

" _ha i told him that but he thinks that wouldn't be good_ "

" _what? but its unlimited money_ "

" _I know, right?_ "

" _alright hopefully that settles your argument goodnight_ "

" _Goodnight dweeb_ "

Mae looked at the time, realizing half an hour had gone by since she got home. And, even then it was about about midnight. She needed her beauty sleep. And so, she turned in for the night, taking off her shoes before pulling the comforter back and falling asleep.

Darkness. She felt lost, yet she knew exactly where she was. A deep, powerful presence surrounded her. Her eyes darted from side to side, struggling to see anything. Suddenly, she saw something huge in front of her, causing her to back up. She looked up, seeing a familiar entity.

"You again?" Mae asked, her voice shaking with a slight tinge of terror.

The goat… thing didn't respond, yet Mae understood it. It wasn't mind-reading or anything, Mae just… knew. And, she knew that it was unhappy. She knew that it was still there. She knew it wanted her to come back. She knew this was happening for a reason. She knew—

Sunlight streaked into her room. Mae opened her eyes, seeing her bedroom. It was all a dream? Wow, how cliché. But, a dream it was. She was sure of it. Just a paranoid imagination run free. Mae looked out the window. It was late in the afternoon, yet everything was okay. The only thing that wasn't okay was how she looked in the reflection of the window. Ugh.


	3. All is Well, Except for the Well

" _you know the drill 3_ " Bea messaged.

Mae sat up from her bed and shifted her focus from her laptop over to the mirror. She really needed to get other clothes. After equipping her shoes, she made her way downstairs, making sure to catch up with her mom before leaving.

It was yet another nice day outside, birds chirping, sun shining. Ugh. Too bright. But, she needed to get her mind off of her weird dream. And, she had to say hello to Bea, so, she was off to the 'Ol Pickaxe.

But, before she could walk through the doors of the building, she was caught by Lori, who was standing by the nearby statue.

"Hey, killer," Lori spoke.

"Ugh." Mae groaned after turning her head towards the child, "Hey."

"Uh, so, remember how you told me about those weird murderous conservatives a while back?" Lori started.

"...Yeah," Mae responded.

"Okay, well I'm almost done with a cool horror movie adaptation of it. So, what do you say?" Lori asked.

"Uh, I don't know?" Mae answered, confused.

"Will you be in it when I finish it?" Lori nervously bargained.

"Oh, are you actually gonna produce it?" Mae wondered, a bit impressed. Lori wasn't exactly Mae's best friend or anything like that, but the two had hung out plenty before, and Mae was seeing Lori improving in her movie stuff. It was kinda cool.

"Uh, yeah, I'll try, at least. Also, I'll get to say that it's based off of a true story, which makes it look better," Lori joked.

"Sweet. But, um, maybe I'll do it? Last time I acted was during Harfest, in that play, and that was pretty bad. But, I'll try, I guess," Mae stated.

"Nice! I don't think I'll be ready for a few more weeks, but I'll tell you when I'm done, alright?" Lori proposed excitedly.

"Yeah, okay." Mae agreed, glancing over towards the door of the 'Ol Pickaxe, "...Uh, I'm gonna go in—"

"Ok ok ok ok. See ya!" Lori said, unusually excited. She was a cute kid, all happy and stuff. Mae made her way into the 'Ol Pickaxe.

 _Ring._ Bea glanced up from her phone to see Mae.

"Hey," Mae said.

"Hey. Punctual as always, Mae," Bea joked.

"Thanks, I try," Mae chimed.

"Alright, well, I've gotta head out in a few minutes," Bea stated.

"Really? Again?" Mae asked.

"Yeah, Germ's family has been paying us a lot. I'm pretty much the closest one in this town to a carpenter, so I'm kinda exclusive," Bea explained.

"Hmmmm… Could I come with you?" Mae bargained. She didn't really have anything to do, and she needed to calm her paranoid mind, so it only made sense for her to join.

"Uh, sure," Bea thought.

"Nice," Mae said while Bea grabbed her tools. It was actually kinda amazing how much Bea could carry sometimes. God, she was great.

"Wait a second," Bea advised, pocketing her phone before picking up her tools again. Bea walked out the door with Mae following.

"So, how much more work do you think you have to do on Germ's house?" Mae asked.

"Hopefully not too much more," Bea blankly answered, lugging along the container of tools with no apparent difficulty.

"That's good," Mae sympathised. Bea clearly didn't want to do much more work.

"Yeah." Bea agreed, "How's looking for a job going?"

"Ugh. Not great. No one's really looking for more workers. Not even the new taco place!" Mae complained.

"I guess that's just a side effect of living in a small, dying town," Bea nonchalantly stated.

"Heh, yeah," Mae chuckled.

That was something Mae knew well, but she tried not to accept. She had seen the town, dead and dilapidated, yet she still couldn't believe it would ever be in such a state. But, more and more it seemed that the town would fall apart; more and more people left, while no one moved in. Mae wished it wouldn't collapse, but what could she do? She wanted her and her friends' childhood home to stay alive, but that seemed impossible, more now than ever. The town was going to vanish into nothing.

"Well, we're here," Bea said.

Mae snapped back into reality, realizing she had continued her walk all the way to Germ's house while thinking her extremely zoned out thoughts.

Mae looked around at the unfamiliar location. Sure enough, Germ's house, presumably, stood unfamiliarly in front of her. She glanced behind her, down the hill that she didn't remember climbing. She turned to look forward again, seeing that Bea was already walking into the house.

"You coming?" Bea asked, holding open the door.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry," Mae apologized, hurrying towards the front door.

"Well, you said you wanted to come," Bea teased, closing the door behind her and Mae.

"I know!" Mae huffed defensively.

"The least you could do is—" Bea began, turning around to talk to Mae, before bumping into Germ, "Oh, sorry."

"Hey. Working again?" Germ asked.

"Yeah, hopefully it'll be done soon," Bea answered.

"Cool." Germ said, before noticing the other guest, "Hey, Mae."

"Oh, hey," Mae responded, watching Bea as she left to begin working.

"Are you gonna help?" Germ blankly asked.

"Maybe if Bea lets me." Mae halfheartedly joked, "Uh, completely unrelated, but, do you think I could see the well in your backyard?"

Confused, Germ asked, "Why?"

Mae didn't really want to answer that. She had already made herself look crazy enough when the whole fiasco started, she didn't need to further that. She could simply say that she wanted to see how big the explosion was, or something.

"Uh…" Mae thought, "I wanna see what the dynamite did."

"Sure," Germ agreed, before turning around and walking towards the back door, presumably wanting Mae to follow. And so, follow Mae did, until the two had made it outside and down the hill. At the bottom of the hill was said well, collapsed and destroyed. It had collapsed in on itself, sinking into the ground in the process. There was no way the mines weren't destroyed.

"Cool, huh?" Germ excitedly chirped.

"Yeah, it's cool," Mae agreed, immediately becoming less paranoid. She had gotten that weird migraine simply because she was sick or something. Maybe it was because she had slept too much. Wait, was that a real thing? Too much sleep? Jeez, she hoped not. Also, she had suffered plenty of nightmares before, so this was probably no different. She was okay, as was the town. She just jumped to conclusions too fast, like usual.

"See you tomorrow!" Mae waved as Bea walked into the 'Ol Pickaxe, beginning the surprisingly long process of closing up.

"Bye. Oh, and thanks again for nearly killing me," Bea joked.

"That wouldn't have killed you!" Mae said defensively, slowing down.

"You dropped a hammer on me!" Bea reminded Mae.

"You survived!" Mae protested, practically standing still.

"Heh, whatever, you big dweeb," Bea said, walking into the store, letting the door slowly close behind her.

"Bye!" Mae shouted back, moments before the door closed. She began walking again.

Jeez, she really shouldn't be allowed near any blunt object, Mae thought, closing the front door behind her. Well, she and Bea were both lucky that Bea was able to keep herself from dying. And, Mae was lucky that Bea was so nonchalant about it. Sometimes she could be so forgiving. Mae really hoped that it didn't seem like she was taking advantage of that.

Mae sat down on her bed, surprisingly seeing no messages from her friends. That hadn't happened for a really long time. But, regardless, Mae shoved the computer aside, pulled the bed cover down, and laid down. Her eyes shut, and before long her thoughts ceased and she was embraced by sleep. Everything was okay, right?


	4. Accidental Gay Pride

Ugh. Too bright.

Mae sat up, still dazed from sleep. After taking a moment to gather herself, she reached over and grabbed her computer, reading a message from Gregg.

"things are kinda boring here. I think I might come visit soon"

Mae excitedly began typing.

"THAT SOUNDS GREAT"

Mae had managed to survive for almost a month of Gregg and Angus being gone, despite what she had originally thought. But, she still missed Gregg, no matter how much surviving she had done, so the thought of Gregg coming back for a visit had her smiling.

After staring at the screen for a moment, contemplating whether she should close the computer and start her day, her computer dinged; Gregg had responded already, surprisingly.

"well don't get too excited. it was just a thought"

"i know but DO IT"

"okay, clingy"

Mae had had enough cute banter for the time being, and closed her laptop. She put on her shoes and headed downstairs, managing to not stop in front of the mirror. But before leaving, she made sure to quickly say hello to her mom, who had surprisingly not launched into an elaborate conversation, allowing Mae to leave quickly.

Mae begun her short walk to the 'Ol Pickaxe, making sure to jump on mailboxes, cars, and fences along the way. However, something seemed… off. No cars drove by on the hilly street. No aunt gave her a dirty look when she hopped on top of the parked cars. The town was just about empty. But Mae, unlike her typical self, didn't care too much; she had a girlfriend to attend to.

Ding. Mae waved as Bea looked up, wide-eyed, from her plugged in phone.

"Hey, Bea!" Mae spoke, being only slightly more annoying than the incessant bell above the door.

"Oh, hey." Bea mumbled, letting her eyes return back to their natural bored, glazed appearance, "You're here earlier than usual."

"Oh, really? I didn't know," Mae nonchalantly mentioned.

"Really? You didn't, like, look at a clock?" Bea asked.

"I usually don't," Mae responded.

"Hmm, must be nice to be unemployed," Bea responded.

"It's cool. But, like, I don't have any money," Mae joked.

Bea chuckled, before plunging the store into an awkward silence.

"So, uh…" Bea started, attempting to end the silence and change the topic, "Have you come out to your parents?"

"Uh… I've already done that," Mae told Bea.

Bea seemed content with the answer for a split second, before realizing she accidentally asked the wrong question.

"Oh, uh, I meant, like, about us. Our relationship," Bea corrected herself.

"Oh… I haven't done that," Mae answered.

"Hmmm, maybe you should," Bea advised, trying to be helpful.

"Maybe I could. I'll try to invite you over for dinner or something," Mae thought.

"Heh, sounds nice," Bea smugly, yet compassionately, smiled.

"Cool," Mae blushed. Bea was clearly too cute for her own good.

After conversing for a bit more, Mae left. And, the sun was shockingly still in the sky, barely past midday. Mae really must have gotten up early. But, Mae had things she had to do. She began walking towards the Snack Falcon before whipping her phone out and beginning to text her mom.

"hey mom is it ok if bea comes over for dinner tonight?"

Mae let her arm, and subsequently the phone, droop down to her side as she continued walking. But, as she walked through the door of the Snack Falcon, her mom responded, causing Mae to pull her phone back up to her eyes.

"If you actually eat dinner tonight, then sure, honey."

"k cool"

Mae walked up to the counter of the store.

"Sorry about that. Hey," Mae said, putting down her phone. She looked up, seeing Germ face down on the counter, asleep. That in itself was impressive to her, as he was still standing.

She was about to turn around and leave when Germ woke up and fell to the floor. She wasn't able to tell which order it happened, but chuckled anyway.

After she had finished quietly laughing, she spoke up, "Germ, are you alright?"

Germ rested his hand on the counter and pulled himself up. Mae took a look at him. He seemed okay; nothing was broken or bleeding.

"Oh, uh, yeah…" Germ responded, seeming embarrassed.

"Sorry if I woke you up," Mae apologized as Germ adjusted his hat.

"Naw, it's just… I think the state sent construction workers to fix up the mine, and they've been loud. And, they've been working only at night," Germ explained, his eyelids drooping.

"Oh, really?" Mae questioned, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, there's, like, construction stuff and everything," Germ elaborated, resting his head in his hand.

"Huh. Well, I guess it is kinda historical or whatever," Mae pondered.

"Yeah, that strike or whatever happened there," Germ said.

"Alright, well, try to sleep if you can," Mae empathetically advised as she walked towards the door.

"See ya," Germ yawned.

Mae pulled her phone out and began texting Bea as the door closed behind her.

"hey are you free tonight"

Mae began walking towards her house, paying attention only to her phone as she waited for a response.

Generally, it's a bad idea to plan something with someone before that someone knows they're doing it, but Mae clearly didn't feel like following any sort of rules, even unwritten ones. And so, Mae had done just that, asking her Mom about Bea coming over before asking Bea.

She had dropped out of college.

Suddenly, her phone dinged, and Mae read the message.

"heh so you were actually serious about it? Well sure i'm open you big flirt"

"cool come over to my place at like 7"

"ok 3"

Mae looked up from her phone smiling. She had also walked past her house, and so turned around and walked back.

Seven finally came around, and dinner was minutes away from being served. Mae was upstairs, engulfed in her phone. A knock came at the door, which was answered by Mae's mom. Standing at the door was none other than Bea, whose mouth did not contain a cigarette, surprisingly.

After Candy and Bea conversed for a minute, dinner finished being cooked, and Bea was asked to get Mae from her room.

"Mae?" Bea asked as she stepped up into the attic, before noticing her on her bed, "Oh, hey."

"Oh, hey Bea," Mae responded, putting down her phone.

"Uh, your mom wanted me to come up here and tell you that dinner was ready," Bea said, looking around at the room.

"Oh, how long have you been here?" Mae asked as she stood up from her bed.

"Not long, Mayday," Bea responded, following Mae down the stairs.

"Cool. By the way, we're having tacos!" Mae explained.

"Wow, what a surprise," Bea said, practically verbally rolling her eyes.

"I know!" Mae continued, seemingly not noticing the sarcasm.

Mae and Bea sat down at the table in the kitchen as Candy served said tacos.

"So, Bea, how are things going at the 'Ol Pickaxe?" Candy asked while pulling out her chair and sitting down.

"It's been going good. Mae's been keeping me company," Bea mentioned, looking over at Mae, who was quickly devouring the food.

"Oh really? Mae's being helpful?" Mae's dad dramatized.

"Shockingly, yes," Bea teased. Mae was unable to respond as she was still chewing roughly 3 bites of food.

"Leave me alone," Mae pleaded, mouth still full of food.

Candy laughed, "You two seem to get along great."

Bea looked over to Mae, who returned the gesture, swallowing her food. Clearly now was the perfect time to mention that they were dating. Mae was irrationally nervous. She had come out as pansexual to her parents long ago, and that was hardly an issue. Yet, she felt nervous about mentioning that she and Bea were in a relationship. It made no sense. Why was she so weird about stuff all the time?

"Well actually, mom, we're kinda dating," Mae explained.

"Oh really? That's great!" Candy excitedly celebrated.

"Yeah, good on you two," Stan mentioned, smiling.

"...So, how long has it been?" Candy questioned, wanting to know more about the couple.

"Uh, a few months, I guess," Mae answered, looking over to Bea, almost as if for support.

"Well that's great, sweetheart," Candy supportingly smiled.

"So, Bea, you've been good to my daughter?" Stan interrogated.

"...Dad, I can—" Mae started.

"I've kept her alive," Bea answered.

Stan chuckled, "I like you, Bea. But, what I like more are these tacos! Candy, where'd you find this recipe?"

Yawn. It'd been a long day for Mae. She fell into her bed like a tree being cut down, not bothering to check her messages. Gregg and Bea had probably messaged, but she was simply too tired to check. Dinner had been nice, and telling her parents she was dating Bea went well, so she couldn't complain. The only thing she could do was take off her shoes and go to sleep. And so, she obliged. She closed her eyes as sleep slowly took her away.

She could feel the surging power around her, despite the inky, black darkness engulfing her. This was no fantasy, clearly. She could feel the rage of a god course through her very veins. She looked around, hoping to catch sight of the god. And, after a moment, she saw it. The same god she had seen in countless dream prior stood before her. It beckoned her.

She hesitated. She tried to convince herself, like many times before, that she was simply dreaming, and that this was just her being paranoid. But she couldn't. She knew that this couldn't be just a dream. Her "dreams" months ago had predicted the cult, and these clearly predicted… something. She couldn't just write them off as the byproduct of an anxious mind, they clearly predicted something big. Perhaps… perhaps the cult was coming back. Perhaps they hadn't died in the cave in. Perhaps they hadn't died in the explosion. Perhaps they had reclaimed the mines. Perhaps… perhaps all the paranoia was justified. Perhaps she was right to be nervous. Perhaps—

"You needn't worry, child. All will be revealed, explained, and solved soon," the god proclaimed, cloaked in darkness.

And, just like that, it all disappeared; she woke up.


	5. The Quiet Before, After, and During

Mae just about pulled a muscle from how violently she sat up in her bed. She had broken out in a cold sweat and almost fell off of the bed while sleeping. The dream felt too real. It couldn't be just a figment of her imagination. She threw her head into her hand.

It was still dark out, meaning she hadn't slept for _too_ long. But, Mae definitely wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. How could she? So, her computer comforted her, keeping her awake through the power of the internet.

Stirring away her boredom and keeping herself awake was easy. After all, she had been doing all the work. Mae kept thinking about her dream? Prediction? Astral projection? Well, whatever it was, she couldn't get it out of her head. Clearly it meant something. And what Mae thought that something was wasn't good. The cult was coming back, wasn't it? The same cult that had killed Casey was back.

She weakly tried to convince herself otherwise. She had always been one to overreact, and besides, she had other, less grisly things to think about. But, she just couldn't bring herself to believe it. This was real. This put her, and more importantly, her friends in danger. Sure, Gregg and Angus were safe over in Bright Harbor, but Bea and Germ and Lori and Selmers and… everyone were still here. She had to tell someone. She had to warn her friends. Right? That was the right thing to do? Ugh. None of this had a clear answer.

Mae kept herself content on the internet for as long as she could, but at some point, you run out of feed to scroll through. Also, you run out of patience to deal with anxious, paranoid thoughts. So, after taking a quick look at the clock and seeing the time, about six, she stood up. The sun was low in the sky, but provided enough light for her to leave the house. So, she donned her shoes and pocketed her still charging phone. She had to get her mind off of the cult, even if it meant leaving the house at a regular time.

As much as Mae hated to say it, it was a nice day out. Sure, the town was, again, practically empty, but the sun was shining, the sky was cloudless, the flowers flourished and bloomed, and the birds sung surprisingly pleasant songs. Mae couldn't remember the last time she had been out and about the early in the day. It was nice, as was the feeling of hopping onto a nearby mailbox.

 _Ding_. "Hello, and welcome to the 'Ol Pickaxe," Bea droned, looking down at her phone and sipping recently brewed coffee.

"Hey," Mae responded, attempting to make herself sound cheery and energized, even though she was clearly nervous and tired.

Bea practically spit out her drink as soon as she heard Mae's voice. Her eyes shot up and searched for the source of the voice. She couldn't believe it. Why would Mae be here at 6 in the fucking morning?!

Bea swallowed her coffee, "Mae?!"

"Yeah?" Mae responded, not understanding the confusion.

"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Bea asked.

"Visiting you," Mae answered.

"Yeah, but at…" Bea looked down at her phone, "eleven past six!"

"So?" Mae continued.

"'So?' Usually you wake up hours from now!" Bea explained.

"I couldn't really sleep," Mae said.

"Okay, so what were you doing? What crimes were you committing?" Bea drilled.

"None crimes?" Mae answered, "...It's just that I… I'm worried about the cult."

Bea had gotten an answer that fit. She knew that only something serious would cause Mae to miss her sleep. But that? That was an answer that Bea didn't really want to hear.

"Oh… Aw, jeez. What's going on?" Bea asked, her attitude changing in milliseconds.

"Well, it's that I keep having the same sort of dreams I had before the cult. Like, the ones with the weird goat god guy. And… I don't really have any evidence, but I can just feel that something's off. Like, the town's been all empty the last few days. And, there's construction on the mines, and I think that maybe… maybe the murdercult's back." Mae said.

Bea took a moment before responding, "...Alright. Mae, if all that's really bothering you, then maybe you should go talk with Dr. Ha—"

"Stop. I don't want to go see Dr. Hank! I'm not crazy! I don't need to go see Dr. Hank again! I just— I wanna know what's going on. I'm just really nervous and scared and wanna know that the cult's not back. I just wanna know if you and me and my family and friends are safe," Mae interrupted on the verge of tears.

Bea leaned over the small counter and hugged Mae, holding on for what felt like forever, before letting go and grabbing Mae's hands. She looked Mae in the eyes.

"I'm sorry… If you wanna go check out the construction at the mine, then I'll go with you. Tomorrow, though. I've kinda gotta finish up work today," Bea sincerely explained.

"Okay. That sounds good." Mae smiled, leaning over and hugging Bea again, "How did I get someone like you to fall in love with someone like me?"

"You were you. Nightmare eyes and all," Bea flirted.

Mae laughed. "I like you, Beatrice Santello."

"You know what? I like you too, Mae Borowski." Bea responded.

Mae returned home around half an hour after she left. She walked upstairs, took her shoes off, and went back to sleep. She could finally sleep. She wasn't alone in this.


	6. Contsruction Stuff

Mae's eyes shot open. Her phone was ringing. Ugh. Mae didn't have the brain capacity to deal with these things, she just wanted to sleep for, uh, forever?

"Hey," Mae sluggishly answered, picking up the phone.

"Hey. Are you actually gonna come down to the store today?" Bea's familiar voice asked.

Mae searched the bottom of her computer's screen for the time. It was about five in the afternoon.

"Didn't I already?" Mae questioned.

"What? No…?" Bea responded.

Mae could've swore she saw Bea just hours ago.

"I totally did," Mae continued, looking out the window.

"You came to the 'Ol Pickaxe _yesterday_ ," Bea explained.

What? Had Mae slept for a day and a half? Was that even possible?

"What? But… okay, I'm coming over," Mae said, looking around for her shoes.

"...Alright," Bea agreed, hanging up. Mae put her shoes on and took a quick look at herself in the mirror. Her fur was sticking up in all different directions. She was a mess. A terrible mess that could somehow sleep for thirty-six hours. Jeez.

It was a nice evening out. The town didn't seem as empty as it had been the few days prior. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, Mae didn't know.

 _Ding_. Bea blew out a puff of smoke before looking up to see Mae.

"There you are. Do you wanna check out the mine or not?" Bea asked.

The mine. Mae had forgotten all about that. But, she definitely still had to check it out. She had to know the truth about the—

Bea laughed, pointing to her head, "What kind of hairstyle is that?"

"Uh, a good one?" Mae jokingly scoffed.

"Heh, alright." Bea chuckled, "Well anyway, are you ready?"

Mae instantly became nervous. What if the cult _was_ there? Then what? They get murdered in the spot for nearly killing the cult? Mae didn't think this was a good idea anymore.

"Uh, I think the real question is: are _you_ ready?" Mae stalled.

"Um, yeah. I've been ready for a few hours," Bea answered.

"Oh. Well then, yeah, I'm ready," Mae continued.

Bea sighed, "Look, if you don't wanna go, then—"

"No. I wanna go," Mae said.

As much as Mae wanted to just go back home and stop thinking about the cult altogether, she had to see the mine. It was better to know than to not. Right?

"Alright, then. Let's roll," Bea responded, beginning to walk towards the door.

The two began walking into the woods, towards the mine that generously hosted the murdercult. The sun was starting to dip low in the sky. But, the two continued.

Mae, however, had begun to feel a headache. Or maybe it was a migraine. Whatever it was, Mae didn't like it. Her vision blurred and her balance was slowly becoming nonexistent. Maybe Mae was right; too much sleep did give her a headache. Or, just maybe, the suppressed idea in the back of her mind was right. Maybe this was because of the goat guy in the bottom of the mine. She hoped not and continued staggering along. Well, that was until Mae tripped and fell over a rock.

"Mae? You okay?" Bea asked.

"Ugh. My head hurts," Mae answered, still lying on the ground.

"Did you fall on your head? Should I take you back to—" Bea continued, becoming nervous.

"No, let's keep going," Mae determinedly answered, attempting to stand back up, before beginning to stumble.

Bea caught her before she fell. "Hey, are you sure you can actually walk the rest of the way?" Bea wondered, "Should I carry you?"

"No, I got it," Mae responded, trying to get up yet again. She, again, began to stumble, before being grabbed by Bea, who lifted her onto her back.

"Grab on, you baby," Bea joked, who had calmed down after seeing that Mae was, mostly, all right.

Mae couldn't believe how Bea was able to carry her fat ass the rest of the way. Sure, there wasn't all that much left to go, but, still. It was amazing. She was amazing.

"Mae, you haven't fallen asleep have you? Cause we're here," Bea explained.

Bea was indeed correct. The two had made it to the mine. The sun had begun to set, and projected oranges and yellows upon the mine and the surrounding construction equipment. And, the construction equipment was as Germ had described it; it was indeed stuff— official stuff, in fact. There were digger things and bulldozer-like things sitting around. The actual opening to the mine, however, wasn't as Mae had expected; it was still covered in rubble. According to Germ, they must have been there at least a few days, yet they hadn't even made a dent into the opening?

"Well, no one's here. And, the mine isn't even close to being opened. So, Mae, I don't think the cult is doing any sort of stuff here. The only thing they're doing here is decomposing under all the rubble in the mine," Bea morbidly stated.

"Yeah, but… Ugh. I don't know. I'm just all confused," Mae responded, examining the construction site.

"About?" Bea asked.

Mae walked over to the mine's entrance, "Come here. Shouldn't the opening have at least a little bit of rubble dig out of the way?"

Bea considered Mae's point, "Hmm… that is kinda weird. But, maybe they're just really lazy, like you."

"But Germ said that they've been loud. How can they be loud if they're not working?" Mae wondered.

"Well, maybe they're just driving the construction equipment around. Or maybe they're just, like, throwing parties or something," Bea said.

Mae didn't think that that was right. That was just making too many assumptions. But, there wasn't any other things to examine, and Mae didn't want to waste anymore of Bea's time.

"...I don't know. Maybe?" Mae responded, despite not believing Bea's explanations.

"Well, if you wanna stay here any longer—" Bea began.

"Nah, let's go," Mae interrupted.

"Alright. Do you need me to carry you again?" Bea asked.

Mae's headache had settled down, and Mae was, for the most part, all right. Sure, she still had some mild throbbing in her head, but she was able to see and walk, so she was fine.

"...Nah, I'm fine. Let's go," Mae answered, beginning to walk out towards town.

The sun was starting to lower behind the horizon, which made the already dark forest even darker. And as such, Bea had pulled out her phone and used the flashlight. But regardless, the two had made it back to town. No cult had shot them and no bear had mauled them.

"Alright, goodnight, Mae," Bea waved, walking towards her abode.

"Bye, Bea!" Mae responded.

The sun set, making way for twilight, and later, night. Mae had made it back home and got herself ready to sleep. She lied down in her bed and closed her eyes.


	7. Questions Without Answers

Ugh. She couldn't sleep. That hadn't happened for a long time; sleep usually came naturally to her. But whatever, she had a phone to keep herself entertained.

She had exhausted all of the phone's entertainment by about four o'clock, however. Cat pictures could only keep her busy for so long. And, as such, she put her phone down and lied back down in bed. She closed her eyes, hoping that _now_ she could finally sleep. But, that hope was all destroyed when a sudden thought popped into her half-awake mind.

'And they've been working only at night.'

Mae jumped up from her bed. She couldn't believe she had forgotten that Germ had said that. They only worked at night. If four in the mornings was still considered night to the construction workers… fuck it. She'd try it anyway. She had to at least try.

Mae grabbed her phone and out on her shoes before quickly rushing out of the house. She began running towards the mine. If she could get there before the construction workers stopped construction-ing, then she could figure this out once and for all.

She ran through the woods as fast as her short legs could go. She used the light from the moon to dimly light her path, and before long, she had made it. She slowed down as she came up to the site, hoping to, from a distance, catch sight of the workers.

The rubble in front of the opening wasn't there. The construction equipment was there, however. Well, that would be true if the digger thing was there.

She slowly stepped closer to the mine, being sure to stay hidden behind trees and stuff. Mae hoped to see faces that she didn't recognize. To see people she didn't know from a construction company she hadn't heard of. To see an innocent scene of hard-working employees doing their jobs. She hoped for that. Too bad that wasn't what she saw.

Cloaked figures continuously walked into and out of the mine's opening. The elevator's rumbling clearly echoed out of the opening. Soft, prayer-like mumblings were exchanged betwixt the figures. The digger machine came out from the mine, unloading a large pile of rock and dirt.

This wasn't the scene Mae wanted to see. The cult was back. She stood still, practically frozen with shock and fear. Her eyes darted from person to person. She wanted to bolt out from the site, but yet she was unable to.

The construction continued, until one of the figures noticed the still Mae. The figure turned to look at her, and stared at her. The figure's face was cloaked in darkness, and couldn't be identified. But regardless, it was enough to remind Mae's legs what they were supposed to be doing. Mae began sprinting back towards town. She stumbled over rocks and branches, but continued at a quick, steady pace. Her breathing became fast and shallow. Her thoughts raced twice as fast as she did.

The cult really _was_ back. She _was_ right. Her dreams _had_ predicted this. The god _did_ cause her headaches and nightmares. The cult _hadn't_ died in the cave in. She was _right_ to be nervous.

Mae made it back to town and slowed down. Her legs were sore from running and her fur had matted to her body. Fuck, she was out of shape. But more importantly, the cult still existed. The same cult that had killed Casey was back in town. The mine was getting cleared out and the cult was making it back to their sacrifice hole. Mae couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it.

She had to tell Bea about it. She had to fill Germ in. She had to get Gregg and Angus. She had to get as many people as she could to help. They had gotten back in her head and she needed to save both herself and the town. But now wasn't really the best time to do that. The murdercult knew that Mae had seem them. Also, everyone that she wanted to get help from was asleep. _Also_ also, she really needed to take a shower. She smelled like shit.

She opened the door to her house and she walked up to the bathroom. She would probably end up waking up her parents, but it didn't really matter. The sun was beginning to rise, so that meant that people's morning routines were starting. Hers happened to start now and included taking a shower. She could justify her four in the morning shower, so that meant she could take it without consequences.

Mae undressed and turned the water on. She needed this shower. One, she had to make herself not smell so bad. And two, she had to sort out her thoughts.

Mae stepped into the shower and closed the shower curtain. The hot water washed over her, instantly making her feel sleepy.

So, the cult _was_ back. She had solid proof that they were back. But, what did that mean? Were the planning to sacrifice innocent kids again? Were they gonna kill Mae and her friends for causing the mine to cave in on them? And, how far had they dug into the mine? Had they made it back to the god pit? Well, it would make sense if they had. Her dreams had clearly been made or sent or discovered by the god goat, and it would make sense if the cult finding him caused that activity.

Mae finished her shower and turned the water off. She grabbed a towel and began drying herself off.

What if the cult tried to sacrifice Mae or her friends? Jeez, Mae couldn't stand the thought of the murdercult killing Bea. Or Germ. Or Gregg. Or Angus.

Mae began dressing herself back up in her single outfit.

How much power did the cult have? They were made up of Possum Springs residents, and so clearly they had some sort of control over the town. They were definitely old people, and some of them probably owned businesses. If some of them had a role in the town's governing, them they had the potential to do whatever they wanted, didn't they?

Mae opened the bathroom door, turning off the lights behind her as she stepped out. She walked back upstairs, into her room.

The sun had risen, and was shining over the dull, cult infested town. It was almost ironic.

If the cult was able to get their hands on construction equipment, then what else could they get their hands on? They had guns when they met in the mine. What if they went out into town and searched for Mae? What if they just shot her when they found her? Was Mae safe? Was Bea safe?

Mae shook the thoughts from her mind and picked up her phone.

" _bea im gonna have to talk to you as soon as possible_ "


	8. A Lover's Quarrel

Mae anxiously waited for a response. She stared at her phone. Bea was awake, wasn't she?

Her phone vibrated and she instantly began reading.

" _whats going on?_ "

" _its about the cult_ "

" _ok i'll talk to you at the ol pickaxe_ "

Mae turned off the phone before sitting up and grabbing her shoes.

Mae closed the door behind her and began her short walk towards the 'Ol Pickaxe. The sun shined brightly through a cloudless sky. It was mocking her.

Mae darted her eyes around, looking for any potential cultists. She felt unsafe. She was vulnerable.

 _Ding._ Bea stopped nervously tapping her foot, put down her phone, and walked up to the counter.

"Hey, Mae," Bea said.

"Hey," Mae responded.

"So, what was it that you wanted to say?" Bea asked.

"...The cult _is_ back. I saw them." Mae explained, "...I couldn't sleep so around four I went down to the construction site to find out the truth about the cult. I remembered that Germ said the construction had been happening only at night, and so I went over there to go see the construction workers, and they were all cloaked. They had the same weird robes the cult had and were digging into the opening. I could hear the elevator moving and everything. ...They're definitely back, and they've definitely dug pretty far into the mind, and… And, one of them saw me…"

Bea had stood there with her cigarette in her mouth, her eyes widening after practically every sentence Mae said.

"...So now what?" Bea wondered.

"I guess… I guess we gather up as many people as we can and get some weapons and confront them," Mae thought.

"What, like Germ?" Bea questioned.

"Yeah, like Germ, and Lori, and Selmers." Mae continued, "And, maybe Gregg and Angus."

Bea considered what Mae said, before she explained, "Okay, one, Lori isn't really a good pick. Two, Gregg and Angus won't be able to get here for a few days, and that's if they drop everything to get here."

"Well, what do you think we do?" Mae snarked, partly because of anxiety and lack of sleep.

"Uh, report them to the police?" Bea said, facetiously.

"But, what if some of the cult member are in the police? Like Aunt Mallcop?" Mae pointed out.

"Hmm… well— Wait, none of this makes sense, still. ...Mae, I don't wanna sound rude or anything like that, but, I don't think that you _really_ saw the cult. You were probably just really tired, and since it was dark, and since—" Bea thought.

"Look, Bea, I know it seems unlikely, but I swear that it was the cult I saw!" Mae argued.

"I don't think it was, Mae. What about the cave in? What about the dynamite? What about the layer of rubble over the mine opening? What about any of the logical evidence against the idea of the cult coming back?" Bea continued.

"Sure, but wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry? And, even then—" Mae asked.

"No, Mae. Because I have a job which I need to be at. Because I have a dad I need to support! Because all of this cult stuff isn't happening!" Bea shouted.

"...Bea, I—" Mae began, quieter now.

"No, Mae. The cult isn't coming back, as crazy as it was. As crazy as you are," Bea sternly said.

"Bea—" Mae began defending herself.

"Look, I said it before, and I felt bad about it before, but, you _really should_ go see Dr. Hank, Mae. I'm worried about you," Bea explained.

"I don't need to see Dr. Hank! I don't need you to tell me I'm wrong!" Mae argued, "I _know_ it doesn't make any sense! I _know_ I sound crazy! But can't you just believe me!? With how crazy it was that the cult even existed in the first place, can't you just believe that they're coming back? Can't you at least listen to what I've got to say!? I don't need you to pity me!" Mae yelled.

"Look, Mae, if you really believe all this, then let's just go down to the construction site right now!" Bea fought, walking towards the door.

"But, Bea—" Mae began, again being cut off by Bea.

"No, Mae, let's go hear what you've got to say! Let's go see this cult infested mine!" Bea interrupted, walking out the door. Mae followed.

"Bea, I'm just trying to say that I think the cult is coming back. I might not always be the most reliable or the most correct—" Mae explained.

" _Usually_ not," Bea corrected.

"...But I know that I did see the cult. Yes, it might have been dark. Yes, I might have been tired. But, I couldn't mistake hard hats and tool belts for creepy, black robes," Mae resumed.

Bea sighed, "Look, Mae, I'm not saying that you're schizophrenic or anything, I'm just saying that it's dumb to believe this. And, I'm trying to get you to go see Dr. Hank simply because I want to help you. You might not think it, but I'm trying to help you," Bea explained.

The two had been walking through the woods for a while, continuing and eventually cooling down their argument. Although Mae really didn't want to go back to the mine, she continued following Bea.

"Dr. Hank is hardly help," Mae stated.

"I get that, Mae. But where else should you go? We're in the middle of a small, dying town in the middle of nowhere; there's only one person even _close_ to qualified. You only have so much money; we can't send you off to some far off master psychologist," Bea elaborated.

"So? Sending me to Dr. Hank is still bad," Mae said.

"It's the only thing you or I really have." Bea concluded, "We're here, anyway."

The construction site had definitely changed from what Mae had seen the night prior. All of the construction equipment was sitting nearby the mine. Rubble still covered the opening. No one was nearby.

"...Wait, this can't be right," Mae thought upon seeing the rubble covering the entrance.

"See, Mae? No cult. No construction crew, even," Bea said.

"But, they were far into the mine! They had the elevator going up and down! The digger thing was coming in and out of the mine!" Mae explained, confused.

"They weren't far into the mine. They didn't have an elevator running. And, the 'digger thing' wasn't in the mine," Bea said, beginning to walk back to their path.

"Yeah, yeah. And then you're going to mention that I should go see Dr. Hank— I'm not insane," Mae explained, following Bea back towards town.

"You might be," Bea mumbled.

Mae heard that, even though she acted like she didn't. The two continued walking, with the rest of their hike in silence.

"...What if I got a second opinion on this?" Mae wondered, following Bea back to the 'Ol Pickaxe.

"Sure, go ahead. But I'm not coming with you; I have to get back to work," Bea explained.

"Alright," Mae nodded, diverging paths with Bea. She turned around and began heading towards the Snack Falcon.

"Hey, Mae," Germ tiredly waved.

"Hey." Mae began, "Okay, so, I've got a question to ask you,"

"Sure," Germ said, putting his head in his hand.

"Okay, so… if I were to say that what's been messing with the mine was the murdercult, and not a construction company… would you believe me?" Mae asked.

"...I guess? If that means you can make them quiet, sure," Germ answered.

"Well, I mean, if I told you that, would you think it was impossible?" Mae continued.

"I guess not. It's not _impossible_ ," Germ yawned.

"Cool." Mae responded, before walking back over to the door, "Thanks! See ya."

"Bye," Germ said.

Mae let the door close behind her as she turned and began walking towards the 'Ol Pickaxe.

She continued walking, making her way towards the statue. However, she heard… something, and stopped.

She looked over her shoulder. Nothing. She looked towards the street. Nothing. She got a chill down her spine. A memory among many she wished she could forget. She looked towards the statue. Something.

It wasn't easy to see, but it was there. A figure stood almost completely behind the statue. Mae noticed a few distinct things about the person. They wore a dark cloak. Their face was hidden in darkness. They were undoubtedly familiar, yet completely new.

The figure outstretched an arm. The figure beckoned Mae. Mae nervously obliged, if not for any other reason than to learn the truth.

"Come to the mine at three AM. Sharp," the figure spoke.

"What? But… who are you?" Mae wondered, completely dumbfounded.

"I'll see you there," the figure said, walking towards the woods.

"What do you want with me?" Mae asked. It didn't matter though— the figure didn't care, and continued walking, back towards the mine.

Mae stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. But, she remembered someone she could go do. Bea.

She quickly began running towards the 'Ol Pickaxe's door.

 _Ding._


	9. The Storm

Mae ran up to the counter of the store, the door shutting behind her. Bea quickly looked up from her phone.

"A guy from the cult just came up to me and asked me to come to the mine at three in the morning!" Mae hurriedly sputtered.

"What? Slow down," Bea advised, putting her phone in her pocket.

"A guy. From the cult. Came up to me. And asked me. To come by. The mine. At three. In the morning," Mae panted.

"Really now?" Bea humored Mae.

"Yes!" Mae continued.

"Mae, I think that you need to get some more sleep," Bea said.

"What?! This isn't some made up garbage! I'm not crazy! I even asked Germ and he thinks it's possible that the cult's back!" Mae anxiously shouted.

"Okay, let's pretend the cult is coming back. Why would they want _you?"_ Bea asked.

"I don't know! That's why I'm _panicking!"_ Mae continued.

"Well, don't," Bea said.

"Well, I _am!"_ Mae yelled.

Bea quietly chuckled. "Calm down. I'll come with you to the mine," Bea mentioned.

Mae sighed, "Okay. Alright. But, uh, could you maybe stay with me until then?"

"Why?" Bea wondered.

"I'm really nervous about being around in town. I feel unsafe. The cultists could be anywhere," Mae worried.

"Heh, alright, you cutie," Bea flirted.

Mae lingered around the 'Ol Pickaxe until closing. The sun had begun to set and the couple inside was running out of things to talk about.

"Okay, that makes _no_ sense," Bea said, beginning to close up.

"What? Of course it does!" Mae responded.

"No, it doesn't. Garbo and Malloy is _not_ filmed in an alternate universe," Bea continued.

"But have you ever seen Garbo and Malloy somewhere other than the show?" Mae thought.

"No, but that has nothing to do with it," Bea said.

"It has _everything_ to do with it," Mae exaggerated.

Bea chuckled, "Okay, okay. Maybe it does. But, we gotta go either way. It's closing time."

"Okay," Mae said, following Bea towards the door.

"So," Bea started, locking the door behind her as she exited, "do you still wanna stay with me?"

"What do you mean?" Mae asked, confused.

"You know, the mine, cultists, three in the morning?" Bea continued.

"Oh, jeez. I forgot about that." Mae explained, "Yeah, that'd be good."

"Alright, then I guess we're heading to my place," Bea said, starting to walk towards her home.

The two arrived at Bea's before long, and Mae instantly felt her fatigue catch up with her; her sleeping patterns had become practically nonexistent. And so, after asking permission from Bea, she passed out on the couch in the living room, which was okay, as Bea's dad was again, absent. Bea grabbed Mae's phone, unlocked it, and texted Mae's mom.

" _Hey this is Bea. Maes sleeping at my apartment tonight._ "

" _Okay. Don't do anything too crazy!_ "

" _Ha we wont._ "

Bea put down Mae's phone and picked up her own. She had to keep herself awake until three. Jeez, why did she agree to this? The cult wasn't back, and all she was doing was furthering Mae's paranoia! But, if this could _possibly_ stop Mae's crazy conspiracy theories, then it could be worth it. Even if it meant missing most of her sleep.

Bea ran out of social medias to check, and texted Gregg, even though he probably wouldn't respond at midnight.

" _hey_ "

Bea got up and grabbed herself some water from the fridge, before sitting down and noticing that Gregg had responded. Wow. He was still awake?

" _yo bea_ "

Bea used the opportunity to ask about Mae.

" _hey has mae been texting you recently?_ "

" _no why_ "

" _maes been thinking that the cult is coming back for days now_ "

" _is it?_ "

" _no and im worried about her. Is there a good psychologist I could send her to? other than dr hank?_ "

" _aw jeez its that bad?_ "

" _kinda, her sleeping is all out of order she keeps talking about the cult and now shes seen it and now she wants to head down to the mine in 3 hours_ "

" _well shit have you told her parents_ "

" _no shes told germ though_ "

" _should we head back to possum springs for a bit_ "

" _no I dont think so_ "

" _alright well text me after she goes to see the mine_ "

" _alright can do_ "

Bea put the phone down. She let her head rest back onto the cool counter behind her. Was she doing enough? Should she have scheduled a meeting with Dr. Hank anyway? Should she have told Mae's parents? Was she helping at all? She was truly worried about Mae, and it seemed like she wasn't doing enough to help her. Jeez, she was a terrible friend. A terrible girlfriend. A terrible friend _and_ a terrible girlfriend.

It was about ten minutes before three, and Bea decided it was time to nudge Mae awake.

"Hey, Mae, wake up," Bea quietly said, poking the sleeping cat.

"Myeh. I don't want to," Mae moaned.

"Well, you wanna see the mine, don't you?" Bea asked.

"No… Yes… Maybe… I don't know…" Mae thought.

"Well, get up," Bea advised.

"...Fine," Mae agreed, slowly sitting up. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before standing up. She put her shoes on and followed Bea out the door.

"So what do you think's gonna happen?" Bea questioned, curious as to what Mae actually thought.

"Uh, no idea. Maybe they'll try to kill me?" Mae thought, nervously fiddling with a string from her shirt.

"Well, if that's what you think they'll do to you, then why go at all?" Bea asked.

Mae bluntly answered, giving no second thought to it, "Because I'm more nervous about what they'll do to me if I _don't_ go."

The two continued in silence. Mae was too anxious and busy thinking to start any conversations. Bea was too nervous about Mae to continue the conversation.

The two arrived to the mine. Everything was quiet. No construction equipment. No noise. No movement.

At least, there wasn't any at first.

Something moved, very slightly, nearly a simple twitch, near the mine's entrance: a figure, cloaked in both darkness and a robe.

Mae noticed it without flinching, without blinking. Her anxiety was too much more pressing, and she stood against her biggest fear and enemy without blinking. Sometime in the last several hours her panicky nervousness had turned into a silent, static fear. And that alone was something to be nervous about.

Bea barely saw it, but she couldn't believe it. It was too tall to be a raccoon or mouse, too still to be a bear, too robed to be a construction worker. Mae was right. She wasn't insane. She didn't need a psychologist, at least, as much as Bea thought. This was the cult. They were here, and Bea was terrified.

The two were silent and unmoving for what felt like an eternity, before a quiet, raspy, southern voice broke the silence, "Are y'all just gonna sit there?"

Neither female wanted answer; neither even felt that they could. But, Bea filled in the role, regardless.

"N—No…" Bea stuttered.

The voice laughed, before breaking out into a fit of arid coughing. "Get over here! I ain't gonna bite!"

Bea hesitated, before grabbing Mae's hand and walking over towards the opening.

"Hey," Bea quietly said.

"Well, hi," the cultist spoke, paradoxically cheery.

"What do you want with us?" Mae asked.

"Oh, well, we'll be gettin' to that soon, but right now let's head into the mine," the cultist explained.

The cultist began walking into the dark mine. Bea and Mae hesitated, before Mae grabbed Bea's hand and follows.

"So, have y'all got any questions fer me?" the cultist asked, continuing to walk.

"How are you still alive? Did you not die in the cave in? Or the explosion?" Mae quickly asked.

"Well, we all got out. Y'all lived, didn't cha?" the cultist explained.

"Okay, what about all the rubble? How'd you get the construction equipment? Why was there rubble over the entrance every day even though you were digging every night?" Mae continued.

"Well, one of us knows a guy, and we put some rubble over the openin' every day so that no _annoyin' kids caught us before we were ready,"_ the cultist said.

The three made it to the elevator and headed down.

"What about this elevator? How'd you get it working?" Mae continued, trying desperately to get some information that she could use to prove that the cult _wasn't_ back. Something that she could use to show that this was a hoax. A lie.

"We just replaced it," the cultist explained, the overhead light shining down upon them, creating eerie shadows on the elevator's floor.

"Why'd you come back? Why go through all the effort to come back to get back to the mine?" Mae asked, now having audible straining in her voice. She was anxious and scared. She was practically begging for someone to tell her that this was fake.

"Well, you know the tornada that came through here? That was because we hadn't fed 'im," the cultist said, nearly smugly.

"But… what do you want with me?! Why have you been taunting me?! Mocking me?! Following me and getting in my head all over again?!" Mae screamed, tears welling in her eyes, the red light above shimmering in them.

The elevator hit the ground below.

"That's not us gettin' in yer head. That's 'im. He's hungry and angry," the cultist explained.

"Then what do you want with me?! What does he want with me?! Are you going to kill me?!" Mae cried out.

The three continued to stand in the elevator. Bea wrapped her arms around Mae, attempting to comfort her. The cultist looked directly at Mae, and even though the robe covered their face, Mae could feel their eyes peer into her very being.

"Naw, we're not gonna kill you." the cultist grimly said, "We're gonna recruit you."


	10. Acceptance

Mae was taken aback. All that stuff they had said about needing new blood or whatever. They were seriously going to try to get Mae and Bea on board with the cult. Alright then, give them the sales pitch.

"What do you mean?" Bea asked.

The cultist chuckled, "Don't y'all remember? Ma speech I gave when we last met?"

"So wait, you're trying to get us to join in your weird, terrible cult?" Bea responded, folding her arms.

"Well, one, maybe don't call it a 'cult'. Two, we're tryin' to get little Mae here to join more than you," the cultist said, motioning towards the quiet Mae.

"What?!" Bea angrily shouted, "Haven't you bothered her enough? Do you really need to torment her any more?"

Mae looked over to Bea, who didn't look back.

"We're tryna' do the opposite, actually," the cultist explained.

"How exactly could you do that?" Bea continued.

Mae was too tired and anxious to defend herself. She just wanted to sit down on the cold elevator floor and stop thinking about the cult. But she had gotten herself into this so she was gonna figure it out. Or maybe Bea would.

"Mae, we know exactly how you been feelin'. Outcasted. Sent to doctors who don't understand ya. The dreams. The headaches. We've all had 'em," the cultist said.

Mae looked over towards the cultist. Her eyes widened.

"We tried to explain it before. We gone through everythin' you have. Nightmares. Migraines. Visions." the cultist elaborated, pausing before continuing, "Shapes."

Mae felt a rush of… everything. Emotions. Adrenaline. Fear. Serenity.

"We've told others about it, only to be sent to doctors who send us to session after session, only to take our money and to give us drugs we don't need. One of us even remembers bein' locked in an asylum," the cultist continued.

Mae didn't know how to feel. She knew what the cult did. How many they'd murdered. Who they'd murdered. But, she felt that she had finally found someone who understood her. And she was scared of this part of her that accepted this.

"And all of those things are things caused by 'im." the cultist said, pointing back towards the hole, "He does those things to tell us we're different. That we're supposed ta help him. He gives us hard times when we disobey. But when we listen… it all goes away. We lose our nightmares, our headaches, our 'insanity'. And we gain health, wealth, glory. And we know what it's like to have all those terrible things."

Mae continued to stare at the cultist, her jaw beginning to drop. Bea looked over to Mae, nervous as to how Mae would respond.

"So what I'm tryin' to say is, this is somewhere where you can belong. Somewhere where you fit in. Somewhere where you can live happily, helping your town, your friends, your family," the cultist explained.

The cultist grabbed the sides of the hood covering their face and pulled it down, revealing the person underneath. It was Bea's dad.

"Dad?!" Bea yelled.

"I've been tryin' to help us after yer mom died, and this was the only way I could. A few guys got me into it, and it's been workin'," Bea's dad explained.

"You couldn't just work at the 'Ol Pickaxe? You had to get into a murdercult? You had to kill people?" Bea shouted.

"I tried to help. And I made you tougher, stronger," Bea's dad continued.

"What you did was destroy my dreams! Keep me in this stupid town!" Bea said.

"I tried, and it's been workin', Bea," he elaborated.

"Come one, Mae, let's get out of here," Bea grumbled, grabbing Mae's arm.

"No," Mae resisted, pulling her arm out of Bea's grasp.

"What?" Bea asked, surprised and confused.

"I mean no," Mae said.

"...Are you really considering this?" Bea shouted.

"I want to stay here," Mae explained.

"What?! You— give us a minute," Bea grumbled, pushing her dad out of the elevator before sending the elevator back up.

Once the elevator had made it about half of the way up the shaft, Bae began talking.

"Are you really considering joining this cult? The same one you've been fearing for days now? The same one that you feared months ago? The same one that killed Casey?" Bea shouted.

"It's where I should be," Mae said, blankly and quietly.

"It's not where you should be!" Bea continued.

"I can get all these nightmares out of my head. I can finally live a normal life," Mae explained.

"A normal life where you fucking killpeople!" Bea yelled.

The elevator made it to the ens of the shaft.

"I can stop paying Dr. Hank! I can support my family! I can help everyone I know! I can stop this town from dying!" Mae said, her tone and volume changing in seconds.

"You'll be killing people! You'll be saving a town with no one in it!" Bea explained.

"I'll be able to live life. Stop worrying about shapes or nightmares. Help my family keep the house. Help you go to college," Mae elaborated, quieting back down.

"How?! How will you do any of that?!" Bea asked.

"I'll fix the town. I'll get wealth. Etcetera," Mae continued.

"What?! No you won't! None of those things will happen and you don't belong here! This is just a group of insane people!" Bea yelled.

"Well, I'm insane, aren't I, Bea?" Mae said.

Bea gasped shallowly. This was all her fault, wasn't it?

"You're not!" Bea disagreed.

"You said so yourself," Mae explained.

"I didn't mean that!" Bea continued, desperately trying to deter Mae from joining the cult. She began backing up out of the elevator.

"You did. I know it." Mae said, "This is what I want to do, Bea. 'You might not think it, but I'm trying to help you.'"

"Mae, if you go down there and join that cult I won't be able to talk to any more! I won't be able to love a murderer!" Bea pleaded, tears welling in her eyes, her sadness coming out in the form of rage.

"Well then, goodbye, Bea," Mae said, sending the elevator down.

Bea watched, with her eyes full of tears, as the red light coming from the elevator went down, eventually disappearing.

Mae tried to distract herself from what had just happened. She had a cult to integrate herself into. She was simply trying to help her friends. This would fix everything. This would save her, her friends and family, and the town.

The elevator hit the ground below, and Bea's dad walked up to Mae.

"So what happened?" he asked.

"I'm joining, Bea's leaving," Mae briefly explained.

"Well, alright. Follow me," he said, beginning to walk down the dark mineshaft.

The made it to the end of the tunnel, ending up at the hole they'd seen last time. Rubble covered most of the room opposite to her. It seemed that they had barely made it to the hole before Mae showed up.

"Alright, so now's your initiation or whatever," Bea's dad said.

The rest of the cult came out from the shadows.

"This is our least favorite part of the job, but it must be done, and we must all share the burden," he explained.

One of the cultists carried someone. It seemed to be a crusty. He was unconscious, but definitely alive.

"What are you asking me to do?" Mae asked.

"In order to reap the benefits from 'im, we must keep 'im fed. None of us like doin' it, but we got to, so we share the burden between us. Now's your time to do it," Bea's dad said.

"So, you want me to kill this guy?" Mae questioned, pointing towards the unconscious drifter.

"That's not what we'd call it, but yes," he said.

"...Okay," Mae quietly agreed. The cultist passed the knocked out crusty to Mae, who struggled to hold him. But, she continued regardless, walking over to the hole.

This would fix everything. No more disasters to destroy Germ's roof. No more distracting Bea from achieving her dreams. No more job hunting. No more visits with Dr. Hank. No more trouble.

She dropped the person in, leaving her alone among the hidden, disguised cult.

She felt alone. But she could make a difference. This would work out.

 **Real quick note: there is a sequel to this story currently, check it out!**


End file.
